The Parting - A Hannigram One-Shot
by CompleteLackOfSurprise
Summary: The Season 2 finale broke my heart so I thought I'd write a fic where Hannigram actually happens, though maybe not with the sort of consequences you might expect.


"You were supposed to leave." Will said softly, his heart a quivering mess rising up to meet his throat. Hannibal was breathing heavily but his eyes were set, focused, though damp with the knowledge that his friend, the only human to truly share a darkness of soul and mind with him had plotted his very own entrapment. "We couldn't leave without you" He said honestly. Will turned, their eyes meeting in a new and yet familiar way; this time they were seeing each other in the flesh, seeing the frayed edges of their timid selves rushing to meet one another like tendrils curling towards the same stem. Will wanted so badly to be touched and Hannibal to touch the damp skin of his brow, the burning curve of his cheek. He said nothing but inched closer as the once entrusted psychiatrist slowly raised his hand. A tear left the corner of Hannibal's eye but remained unnoticed as he caressed his friend's cheek. In that moment neither of them could breathe, they didn't want to, didn't need to any more. They could breathe as one, a partnership of fearlessness and poise, parents in tragedy and murderous curiosity, though their curiosity would forever be their downfall and both of them knew this with every beat of their collective heart.

But perhaps their curiosity pertaining to one other, that thread of intrigue Hannibal had been pulling at since the day they met, could finally be indulged. Dr Lecter smoothed the scorching flesh beneath the flat of his palm and whilst stroking the edge of Will's exquisite jaw, leant and pressed his bloodied lips against the younger man's. The kiss was tender as first, neither of them wanting to move or disturb the remarkable feeling of their lips finally meeting. Hannibal was the first to move, coaxing Will's mouth to part slightly, allowing a small moan to escape. Will sighed peacefully, though the tightness of his closed eyes suggested that he was still conflicted even after all this time, still struggling against the overwhelming love he felt for his friend and confidant. Dr Lecter fought, himself, though not against his love for Will, but rather the flourishing need to kiss him deeper, to hold him fast against his chest and devour the unworthy, otherwise known as the FBI, who had tried and failed to break their bond. _They could be a family now_, the psychiatrist lamented, _it was the only way to keep both Will and Abigail in his life._

"You are free to love her now, Will…" Hannibal held his face between both hands, smiling into the gorgeous depths of the young man's eyes, still so innocent. "You're free to protect her. We can both protect her." Will looked to Abigail, the poor girl trembling with the heart-wrenching fear that at any moment her two overseers could be slain and the world would once again look upon her as one half of a twisted, carnivalesque partnership with Garret Jacob Hobbs. The three of them were stronger, more cunning than her father had ever been, she knew this without a doubt, but Will was also plagued by heightened emotion; she could see it now as she studied his face, his eyes bright and yet damp with fresh tears, his lips shaking without Hannibal's to quell them. "I'm scared to live this…to do this." Graham sobbed, almost falling forward into his friend's arms. He was overcome by the passion he felt for Hannibal; he still carried thoughts of killing him, of witnessing the man being punished for falsely imprisoning him, but his yearning for that second life, one with freedom of expression and terrifying compassion, surpassed his desire to watch Lecter's world burn.

"We can live anyway you want…" Hannibal smiled, his lips glinting with sweat and blood. "I would dine on the earth beneath our feet to give you what you deserve, Will." His eyes now shone with the same intensity as his patterned skin. Lecter bent to kiss the young man's lips once more, tasting the bitter-sweet mix of tears and Will's own fevered sweetness. His chest stung with both fear and comfort, the surge of unfamiliar emotion causing his heart rate to soar. But then Will's lips were withdrawing and his chest was still pounding, searing now. Hannibal's eyes flashed open to meet Will's own pained gaze, Graham's shoulder exploding once and then twice in an instantaneous spark of vermilion. If he hadn't of been cradling his dear friend's body as he fell to his knees, Dr Lecter might have felt the shots striking his own flesh as they travelled through his chest and torso. It wasn't until he saw his own blood dampening Will's shirt that he felt the knot of pain expanding throughout his upper body and causing him to fall onto his side.

"Hannibal!" Abigail cried, rushing over to him. "Will…" She sobbed, reaching out for both of them. To her surprise and somewhat consternation, Hannibal was smiling softly, his eyes moving from one face to the other and then back again. He had wanted to be with them both more than anything in this world, even in death if necessary. But it looked as though death was only coming for him tonight, and to his own bewilderment, it didn't bother him much. He realised that as long as Will survived, he could finally have Abigail back and tend to her as he had initially desired. That was all he wanted now and the blissful realisation of Will's happiness above his own, tempered any physical pain, numbed the sting of blood that he could both smell and taste with such intensity that it left him in awe of his own senses.

Will shifted onto his side so that he could face Hannibal. "I'm sorry." Will mouthed, the tears blinding him for a second before Hannibal's weary hand came up to wipe them away as softly as he could manage. "For what, dear Will?" Dr Lecter followed the curve of his friend's cheek and kept it there, nestled between jawline and throat. Will's eyes raised to find the shooter, having seen her only seconds before she fired into the both of them. Freddie stood frozen, the gun still propped up between her hands. "For your life being stolen from you." He said the words without looking away from her, enamoured by his own hatred for the reporter, even now. Hannibal didn't even bother to search for her in the darkness of his peripherals, he didn't want to take his eyes off Will, not now. "Time could only reverse for one of us." He explained, tracing the young man's lower lip with his thumb. "The tea cup that I shattered did come together, Will. But it was for you. Take care of her, as I would have." Will's tears hit his chin. "That place in your world was made for you and Abigail." The words caught in his throat, imagining himself never laying eyes on Will again, never experiencing the rush of dormant emotions waking up as if from slumber.

"But…that place was made for all of us." Will could barely breathe, his hands on Dr Lecter's blood stained collar. Hannibal grasped the nape of his neck and gently brought the man closer to him. "In the next life…" He whispered, pressing his lips to the warm base of Will's ear. "…it will be."


End file.
